(Photo: NBA.com)
Today, I decided to compose a list of which players would make my NBA’s All-Time Top 75 list in the history of the 75-year history of the league. I looked to Basketball-Reference and at Marc Stein’s list through his Substack to do my research. It’s tough to compare eras, as some decades didn’t even have the three-point line, and with the web being introduced later in the 20th century, more information and analytics have come so that players would be equipped more with statistical knowledge and ideas to improve their scoring efficiency and games.
Ultimately, I opted to take a look at 9 factors to determine greatness amongst players in the history of the NBA.
These factors were:
1) Regular Season Win Shares,
2) Playoff Win Shares,
3) NBA (and ABA) Titles,
4) NBA MVPs,
5) NBA Finals MVPs,
6) NBA All-Star Appearances,
7) All-NBA Teams (and All-ABA teams for older players),
8) All-Defensive Teams,
and
9) Career NBA PER.
Using the statistical formula to rank a pool of over 100 candidates to consider, here is my list of the all-time, top 75 players in that played in the history of the NBA. Some of the players didn’t have enough longevity, and some players didn’t quite have as many accolades as the others, so some very good players ended up getting omitted from my list.
Here is my All-Time top 75 NBA’s Greatest Players (in no particular older):
Artis Gilmore (did not actually get in)
Dwight Howard (did not actually get in)
Pau Gasol (did not actually get in)
Dan Issel (did not actually get in)
Chauncey Billups (did not actually get in)
Tony Parker (did not actually get in)
Chris Bosh (did not actually get in)
Manu GinĂ³bili (did not actually get in)
Tracy McGrady (did not actually get in)
Dikembe Mutombo (did not actually get in)
Ben Wallace (did not actually get in)
Alonzo Mourning (did not actually get in)
Kyrie Irving (did not actually get in)
Using the strict criteria of the 9 factors above in a pool of 142 players, the players above are the 75 that made my all-time NBA greats list. Unfortunately, that means there are still some very good players that ended up getting left off.
Active NBA Players That Made My All-Time Top 75 List (12):
LeBron James
Kevin Durant
Chris Paul
Stephen Curry
James Harden
Kawhi Leonard
Russell Westbrook
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Anthony Davis
Carmelo Anthony
Dwight Howard - didn't actually make the NBA's 75
Kyrie Irving - didn't actually make the NBA's 75
Unfortunately, I ended up getting rid of the some of the “50 Greatest Players in NBA History,” because they did not end up in the top 75 overall after weighing those nine factors equally. The players I cut from that list were:
Original Top 50 Players that did not make my Top 75, but made the NBA's 75 (11):
Among looking at Marc Stein’s list, what we had in common is that from the original 50 guys, we both omitted Dave Bing, Billy Cunningham, Jerry Lucas, Nate Thurmond, and Lenny Wilkins from our top 75 lists.
39 of the NBA’s “50 Greatest Players in NBA History” made my top 75 list, and 12 active players that are still in the NBA also made my 75 list. I had fun making this list, and they have just announced the NBA's 75.
The NBA's 75 Greatest Players can be found via Sham Charania's Tweet here.
62 of the players I picked ended up making the NBA's 75 list.
There were several new players that made the top 75 that I did not pick that were not on the original 50 (all of the original 50 made it):
Damian Lillard
Dennis Rodman
Bob McAdoo
All three of those players are very good players. Lillard is one of the best players in today's NBA, and Dennis Rodman is the rebounding king, and was a star on some of my favorite NBA teams, most notably on the 1996 Chicago Bulls, which was arguably the best in NBA history. Somehow, they didn't end up in my top 75 of the nine factors I came up with to come up with my own 75, but those three are well-deserving of being in the NBA's 75 as well.
Anyways, I had fun making this list. Thanks for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment
This is the comment form message. This is also a reminder to be courteous and respectful. Also, no spam.